MH Diaries- Re-learning how to hunt
After a few days of training with the bow, I decided to take those newfound skills out for a spin. I faced my first Black Diablos, and I can say the hunt went waaay smoother than I expected. Definitely an improvement from my clunky performance pre-training!
I spent a significant amount of time poring through the Play Guide, going through tips and tutorials of the game that I hadn't been familiar with before. I took a moment to go through the camera settings and set the camera to Focus, so I could have 24/7 visibility of the monster once I locked on to it. This could limit my vision of my surroundings, but it could prove helpful on focused hunts. At this point in time, I should be accustomed to the locales' environments after all. Emphasis on should.
I familiarized myself again with the Item Box—what items I equipped, my armor stats and my weapon. I also found out that my current Zinogre bow does NOT accept any other coating than the Power coating, and that was after I had stocked up on the other coatings already. Bummer.
Upon facing the Black Diablos, I did my best to apply the bow's movesets from my training. I utilized the Charged Shot to Thousand Dragon combo, and tried my best to take aim at its weak parts, which I discovered to be its wings and hide. I don't know if the head is considered weak, though, since the damage numbers weren't appearing as orange, but I was able to break the horn, as well as its wings, before the 30-minute mark.
The local Felynes, a Palico furr-iend, and Turf Wars with the Diablos and Brachidios helped in making the hunt run smoothly. I did consume all my First Aid Meds and almost all of my potions, but I managed to timely dodge a few Black Diablos surprise attacks from its burrowing state.
I was able to land many of my shots, and was more aware of the reticle showing whether the attack was going to result in a critical hit. Something thatI took advantage of. I also managed to perform the hit-and-dodge technique of the bow pretty well, albeit not perfectly.
It was a good first hunt after a long time. Of course, that was still a hunt from the HR quests, so I know that the Master Rank quests will pose more formidable threats.
The true challenges are still up ahead, and I still have so much to learn, but I have learned to open my eyes and my ears, absorb more knowledge, and rely less on the sheer might and strength of my own weapon. It's time to adapt.
